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A Felt Landscape Class with Jan

A Felt Landscape Class with Jan

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I keep wanting to take this class with Jan, but it always seems to get scheduled when I have a class the next day or when I am at the Farmers Market. I finally got to sign up. My class was scheduled before Jan’s. Then I got the dates for the Christmas markets. The hat class was planned for the day after the last market. It would have to move. I would still be exhausted the day after the market. I don’t want to do that to the students or myself. So now I am taking Jan’s class on Saturday and teaching Felt hats on Sunday. I am sure it will be fine. I got all ready for my class early in the week, so all I have to do is load the car on Sunday morning.

To start, Jan emailed us some pictures so we could choose what we wanted to make. There was one I really liked, but thought it needed something else. So I had a chat with Jan about that. She does say you are the God of your picture. And she never does what everyone else is doing when she takes my classes. I went searching on the internet to see if I could find what I wanted to add. I did not have much luck. Google thinks it knows what I want to look at even when it doesn’t match what I put in the search. I found out later that I should try the in cogneto mode to get better results. Jan sent me a couple of pictures, and I found what I wanted.

I picked the one on the top right, but wanted to add a small shed. I know you were expecting one of the ones with sheep, weren’t you?

At the workshop, Jan had lots of her work to show us, to help us understand what we were doing.

 

 

Jan gave us lots of information about different ways to work. She explained all the needles she had given us to try out. You can see them stuck in the orange noodle. She included different versions of our pictures to help us pick out the wool we needed.

Then we had to pick our wool. She had a lot of wool. The bags covered 3 6-foot tables. There were also several books on the table for us to look at. I have no picture of the books. We were all wanting to get stabbing. I will ask Jan to look at the landscape book she has that I haven’t looked at before.

On to working. I chose to do a rough outline of where things were by holding the thin felt over the picture on a window. It was fun and absorbing, so I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have.

My friend Judy took this picture of me working.

This was my neighbour, she was working on a musk ox picture.

And here is a shot down the tables, of others busy stabbing away.

After adding the fog, I put in a little shack.

As we neared the end of the day, I went to add another layer of trees in front of the fog, but I couldn’t get them right at all. I think I was done with trees for the day. So I added the snow in the foreground. I may add the grass with stitching.

So now it is a few days later, and looking at the pictures, I can see the fog needs to fade out more. And maybe not cover all the trees. I will remove the tree trunks and fix the shack door.  Taking a picture really shows you what you can’t see looking at it live. I am not sure where I will go with the trees. I think I swapped the picture I wanted with a darker one. I may bring the fog down and add a few trees in the mid-ground, maybe with some snow on them.  We will see. I will take it to guild socials and continue.

Jan included a large instruction manual for us( 32 pages) in case we want to do another picture and forget everything we were told (completely possible, there was a lot to learn).

I think we all need to pester Jan to make this an online class or a book.  She has so much of it already done.

Finally Mer-Felting! in Toronto Ontario Canada part 1

Finally Mer-Felting! in Toronto Ontario Canada part 1

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Finally Mer-Felting! 

Monday, Oct 20th 2025.

Monday Morning arrived much too early. Instead of my original plan of donning my apron, a cherished reminder of my wonderful mother in law, and heading to the guild to work on the library, Glenn was loading a couple of suitcases and a project box into the car.  It’s going to be over the usual 5.5 hour drive, with a brief stop to feed the car and ourselves. We are adding a couple quick shopping detours once we get into the Toronto area (primarily, Board Game Bliss). So maybe it will be quicker if you meet me in Oakville? The hotel has a pool you could wait in, but its hours are limited, and it was really chilly the last time I was in it. (No wet felting in the pool while you wait!!!)

map showing root from Ottawa to Toronto ont. canada1.11) A map of  the edge of Ontario, between Ottawa and Oakville, to give you perspective of where we are going today

It was a long drive down, is it possible that either Ottawa or Toronto have moved farther apart?  By the time we got into Oakville, and found a spot to eat dinner, the Pool was closed. So, how about we meet on the Go Train platform just down the street from the hotel, and you can come into Toronto with me, it’s the 8:30 express train. Don’t forget your umbrella, the forecast is rain all day.

 

Tuesday, October 21st 2025

One of Glenn’s Brothers ( brother #4 of 5 brothers) is joining us today, having flown in from the States. I am sure you will like him, he is a math teacher and thespian.  We hiked down from the hotel to the Go station. Oh my! The Go train has a raised platform for wheelchairs and walkers to more easily get on and off the train. The Train worked beautifully and was very comfortable.  Unfortunately, when we got to the subway station, the lifts for the subway were not all working, so it took a bit of extra time to find the lifts that were and get back from the detour the helpful transit people had sent us on. Good thing the building we are looking for is not too far from a subway stop. We arrived just in time, instead of early, as Glenn’s brother thought we would be. (Avoiding stairs always takes much longer when using public transit.)

We were going to a posh law office in a very high tower, in a canyon of high towers, reflective glass and old stone buildings.

some of the landmarks i could see looking out the window i was sitting by 1.12) Some of the landmarks I could see

There were comfortable couches and snacks by the reception desk, and an open stairway in front of a tall window. This window alcove had 2 chairs and a few plants, and a fantastic view looking, I think, sort of south or southeast. (It was hard to tell on the 16th floor, all my normal landmarks are at ground level, and I never had a direct view of the sun. Later consultation with the map suggests I was looking west-ish.)  The Brothers wandered off to a room on another floor to do legal stuff. (I am not a beneficiary, I am not one of the 5 brothers, so I didn’t go with them. I am just here as Glenn’s Driver, moral support, and to do some felting.)  I gave up the too-low comfortable couch for the area under the stairs in front of the window with my box of felting supplies. I checked with the office manager that I would be out of the way there, and the huge window could prove interesting if the rain holds off longer.

interior desk, wating area and behind a hint of the open stairs.1.2) This is a nice office, I don’t want to be underfoot, and the lighting is better over by the window.

window in back ground with glass towers in for ground 2 plants and a chair with my project box of Mer-Felting stuff1.3) Settling into a corner under the stairs.

vew out window with buildings, Hudson bay, Old city Hall New city hall1.4) There were some iconic buildings in my view. The Hudsons Bay building, a church(out of shot to the left) and what I finally figured out was old Toronto city hall and New City Hall.

I spotted an odd building that may not have been a building. I have seen a program on a subway system, I think it was Boston, but it could have been New York (both were discussed in the program), they had buildings that kept their facades, but had been gutted to add ventilation systems for the subway tunnels beneath them. I think this may be one of those fake buildings. It looked very interesting. I would love to have had a tour of it!

old brick building with turbines in center of it.1.5) a shell of a building? 4 massive turbines stick out of the middle of what remains of the stone building.

As I was getting organised to start felting, I noticed I had more than just architecture to watch this morning. I have seen roofers working before, but it’s always from below (not a very enlightening perspective). This was a flat roof, too, so not something I have seen done in person before.  This will also give you an idea of the actual zoom on my camera, as I got curious about that, too.

no Zoom
Some Zoom
More Zoom

1.6-1.8) Oh no, now I have made all the guild members very nervous!!!

While they are getting to work, adding plastic sheeting and rubber membranes to the sides, I should get to work too. As much as the Mer-boyfriend wants to do his own abs, I should really give him a hand (ok, literally). I am going to focus on hand and arm musculature today.

I started with forearms and strengthening the wrists. The density of the felt was too soft, and the wire strength was overpowering the wool felt through the full forearm. I want the arias just above and below the wrist to be much firmer so the wire will be persuaded that bending at the wrist is correct, while bending in the forearm is not. If you are making a figure that will only be in one position, this is not as big a consideration. Since I don’t know how they will eventually decide to pose,  I want them to have options.

Diagarm trying to show one way of trying to help the wire bend where you want it to is firming ether side of the joint and less firm interior felting at the joint.2.1) Diagram of wool density around a joint

Note: if you would like the surface over the joint to have the same superficial density as the surrounding felt, you can use a crown needle or use shallow felting to firm the surface, but leave the under layers less densely felted.

needle stuck in forarm extensor muscles2.2) working on the muscles of the forearms (the extensor group)

working on superior aspect of arm just above the elbow 2.3) working on the posterior aspect of the upper arm just above the elbow joint

 

It’s handy to have good myology (Muscles) and osteology (Bones) diagrams for this. If you don’t have an extensive selection of anatomy and myology books, Google can be very helpful with its search “Images” tab. Good research is part of the fun of felting!

Once I had firmed up the arms, I focused on his hands. I have the fingers wrapped and have added the beginnings of the thenar and hypothenar eminence at the base of the palm. The fingers can be tricky or fussy to work on. If you only work from one angle, it will flatten the look of the fingers, so working all the way around the fingers works best. Make sure that your needle has the first barb close to the tip so you don’t have to stab deeply to move the fibre. This is again a good spot to switch to a crown needle; it’s not as fast with only a total of 3 barbs, but it doesn’t need to go as deep to engage the fibres.

working the needle around the thumb reduces the tendency to flatten the digit by only working in one areabuiding up the mucsles at the base of the palm (thenar and Hypothenar emences) there is no exam at the end.2.4-2.5) working around the thumb

the Young Mer takes a brake on top of his project box2.6) Mer resting and having a break in his project box (needle in lat border of the palm).

I checked in on how the roof repair was going. I was trying to figure out if the gravel part was done or if it was yet to be done.

watching roofers lay out plastic on top of black layer, and wondering if the area with rock is finished or yet to be worked on.zooming in i can see the gravel is the top finished layer and it is yet to be added to the secion being worked on.3.1-3.2) watching roofers lay out plastic on top of the black layer, and wondering if the area with rock is finished or yet to be worked on. Using the zoom, I figured out that the gravel is the top layer.

The reflections are interesting with the stormy sky and landscape reflecting in the glass tower in front of me. The clouds have varying looks of impending downpour pour but so far, no rain has fallen. In the glass tower in front of me, I can see a landscape reflecting what is past the building I am in. As the light shifts and changes, the reflections shift too. It is distracting from my felting, and now I wish I were working on a landscape (don’t tell the young Mer, I will get back to working on him again!)

gray sky and building reflecting in glass tower in front of me3.3) Storm clouds and reflections in the glass tower before me.

If you look to the lower right side of the reflected building, you will see the landscape that captivated my attention. I am not sure if it was just the shifting lighting or if it was the segmentation of the image by the window frames. I spotted a brief sliver of light on the fall trees as it passed and disappeared.

close up of landscape reflected in glass with a patch of sunlight brakeing through the clowds3.4) The landscape reflected in the glass with a sunbeam piercing the clouds, highlighting a stretch of trees and houses.

The clouds cleared for a moment, a bit later, but were quickly followed by a thick grey miasma of impending wetness….

storm clouwds behind building but blue sky reflecting in glass clowds streach over the city and only a hint of blue sky left in the glass reflection3.5-3.6) It was particularly striking with the blue sky reflecting in the glass and the storm rushing in behind the building.

blue sky and white clowds reflecting in glass of tower3.7) The storm rushed past, determined to dump water somewhere else since the sky cleared and the reflections of clouds were fabulous

I next turned my attention to the old City hall (the new one is a half-circle tower, not nearly as interesting a building). The old tower and main building are dwarfed by the much taller buildings around it. Unlike the many new reflective towers, this building has ornamentation and detail to look at. I hope you are fascinated by architecture as I am and will be inspired. If not by the architecture, then maybe it will give you thoughts of who would live in a building with such interesting windows and what they should wear?  What would the gargoyles look like if they got up and flew off? Or, maybe the patterning around the clock face tower will inspire a vessel or scarf?

old city hall with new city hall in the back ground 4.1- old city hall disappearing into the new building surrounding it

copper roof and some of the window patterns in toronto old city hall4.2- just peeking over the building, the fabulous fenestration and detailing are just visible,

Gargoils jsut under clock face on tower one on each of the 4 corners 2 are visible in this shot4.3- Gargoyles!! Oh, the dentils in the roof and repeated under the gargoyle’s ledge! What is that pattern just under the clock? If only I could get closer…

detail of clock face and what i thot was a pillaster untill i zoomed in.4.5- Oh yes, I can get closer!

more decritive moteafs on a gable end of part of the roof4.6)- more patterning on this gable end, the sun with swords, circles with a bar and plain weave?

the light is deepinging the shadows showing more of the deail embelishment of the stone work and gargoil4.7-In the late afternoon, the sun came out, giving this raking light, creating depth and accentuating the details

light reflecting of nabouring glass town is cast on building and roof making intersting distorted patterns 4.81-  As the sun swung further around and pierced between buildings, it finally struck the glass neighbour of old city hall. Bathing the old building in reflected light and shadow patterns from its towering neighbour.

the shadows are darkening between the towers but the sky is blue with flufy white clowds. the relections on old city hall are continuing.4.82) Sunset is approaching, and the reflections off the glass tower onto the stone and copper roof are intriguing but almost lost amongst the urban landscape. 

young Mer showing progress on his hand. he is smileing and looks pleased.5.1)The young Mer showing the progress on his hands

close up of hands5.2) Hands can be a suggestion, or you can spend a long time adding knuckles and surface detail (ask Google to show you surface anatomy, and you should find diagrams of the superficial features)

By late afternoon, I had been switching back and forth, from felting to photography, as the light shifted and played off the reflective surfaces. That landscape I had been watching in the reflection of the building across from me occasionally had highlights of sunshine between clouds, causing parts of the landscape to be illuminated while other parts were darkened. It was very dramatic.

another late afternoon patch of sunlight hits the landscape behind the reflected building 6.1) Another sunbeam strikes the landscape reflection in the building across from me

The sun was getting lower, and I was hoping for a fabulous sunset.

the cast light is getting weaker but still creating intersting relections on nabouring buildings6.2) The reflections and cast light were getting interesting!

 Glenn was sent down by their lawyer (for brothers #2 through 5), to say I could go upstairs and join brothers 4 & 5, since a possible agreement had been found… but when I got there, ah, not quite yet. Glenn had carried my Camera, which accidentally stayed in the room with him, and I went to the hall by the elevators. There was a small table beside the door labelled mail-room and a perfectly placed pot light. So I unloaded my project box and got back to work. Unfortunately, I missed the sunset, since there were no windows in the hall. I did have a lovely chat with a lawyer (not involved with mediation) who was working late as well. I give her a quick demo-brake, explaining needle felting and the Missing Mer-teen dilemma and making a Mer-boyfriend to tempt her out of hiding.

The process ran into the evening, but I had an audiobook and was happily felting. Eventually, they were done. No one ever saw brother #1, but he must have been there somewhere. Brothers #4 & 5 and I all headed back towards the subway, the Go-train, and eventually back to Oakville. (Drat, it’s too late and the pool is closed again). (The floating would have been nice, but I am really not fond of the wetness of the water. Water would be much better if it was warmer and drier.)

Wednesday, October 22nd 2025

Very early in the morning, we said goodbye to Brother#4, as he headed off to the airport to fly back to the States. It was very good to see him. Hopefully, we will be able to visit the 3 brothers living in the States in the future, but not until the law applies equally, women regain their rights, and sanity returns.

 

We also packed up and contacted Monika, of the Olive Sparrow, to check if it would be ok to drop in on the way home. She is not too far off the Don Valley Parkway, south of the 401 highway. She would meet us in about 2.5 hours, lots of time to get to the other side of Toronto!!! ………..

We loaded the car with suitcases, the project box, and the Mer-Boyfriend looking out the back seat window and waving at passing cars (I did take the needle out of his fingers so it was easier for him to wave, if he wants to)  (to be continued shortly)

Remember, the sneaky comment button is still hiding at the top of the page as I am writing this, if you would like to comment or just say hi!

Felting Glasses Cases

Felting Glasses Cases

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Although a recent eye test showed I didn’t need a new prescription, I decided to buy some new glasses anyway to give me more colour/style choices and also hopefully reduce the time I spend trying to find my glasses.  I have a place at home where they’re supposed to live but I often thoughtlessly plonk them down somewhere and then get cross with myself as I play hunt the glasses. 

On seeing my new glasses’ accompanying dull acrylic felt cases, I decided to make some wet felted wool cases of my own, either for myself, or to sell or give as gifts. 

I want the cases to fit snugly, so that the glasses don’t slip out but also don’t need any kind of closure fastening: a simple wet felted sleeve. I like the simplicity of this idea and also the challenge of working them to exactly the right size.

While on holiday recently, I bought a carded (mostly) Wensleydale wool batt from a farmers’ market in Ithaca, New York, that I thought might be suitable and I was looking forward to trying it out.

Here’s some of the batt, the work of Windsong Farm in Burdett NY www.windsongfarm.com

I like a sturdy glasses case as it has to withstand being bashed about in my capacious handbag, so I decided on 4 layers of wool: two natural white merino tops and two of the Wensleydale batt – which includes quite a lot of locks.

I calculated a generous size for the case and multiplied the finished dimensions by 1.7 to give me a nice firm felt.

Resist
2 layers of natural white Merino
First layer of Wensleydale batt
Second layer of Wensleydale batt with a few extra locks

And here it is dry: side 1, side 2 and end-on to show how thick the felt is.

I was happy with the result, though because of the thickness and shrinkage it took quite a long time to felt it fully. 

My second case I decided to treat more like a seascape picture. First, I rounded the corners on one end of the resist to give the case a more rounded bottom. I laid out two layers of wool: pewter for the top half that would become the sea and white for the lower half, that would become the beach. 

I laid two layers of blues with white angora highlights over the pewter section to form the sea, and  two more white layers topped with a strip of very sheer recycled spotted silk scarf which I hoped would look like pebbles for the beach.

I then ran a line of kid mohair top along the length of the case where the sea meets the beach to form a wave. I find this type of mohair felts with a nice wiggle that suggests a breaking wave.

layout layers 1 & 2
adding the sea
a silk scarf for the beach
kid mohair for a breaking wave

Joining the silk so as not to leave a gap or have a bulky overlap was a bit fiddly but I find it works most easily with a very sheer silk. It’s interesting how dominant the wave looks in the photo because of the curvature of the sides.

The finished seascape case

Once that was done, it occurred to me that perhaps people view their glasses cases more in portrait mode than landscape?  I decided case 3 would be less ‘landscape’! I also started to think more about how people use glasses cases. I’m sure some, like me, have them rattling around in a large bag.  But I suppose some people want to put them in a pocket, so may want something a little thinner?

As I was rummaging in one of the giant boxes of charity shop silk scarves I’ve collected for nuno felting, I found a very sheer small orange scarf with wonky purple circles that I thought I’d try for case number 3. I laid out 4 very fine layers of orange merino tops (to reduce the overall thickness).

My plan was for the orange of the silk to merge with the orange of the wool so that the circles were more prominent than their background. I added three pieces silk to each side of the case.

4 thin layers, of merino, 3 wonky silk circles per side laid out then prefelted ready to full

I’m still felting these very firmly.  You can see the shrinkage when comparing the finished case to its resist. I’m not completely sure why, but I’m getting more shrinkage in the width than the length.  Probably it’s because it’s easier to roll it in that direction, using my hands and various thicknesses of pool noodle inside the case during fulling.  Whatever the reason, it’s nice and firm so I can afford to chop a bit off the length of the resist.

Left – finished & dry; top right – testing the fit; bottom right – showing the shrinkage

For case 4 I decide to go thinner still (I’m thinking of someone putting their glasses in a jacket breast pocket) so switch to 2 layers of wool – this time a natural marled grey merino – which I think looks quite pebble-like.  I added a little white wool to the surface to enhance the pebble look. 

I forgot to take progress shots but here is the finished case.

It is definitely thinner and a little softer, though it’s still felted very firmly. 

Now I’m starting to think about the time these cases are taking to felt.  I have a week in a gallery in December and will also be offering some things for sale in two other galleries that that have a local handmade artesan ‘market’ throughout December. I could sell some cases as they might make nice gifts, but I’m not sure how much people will be willing to pay for a glasses case.

Cases are generally supplied free when you buy glasses and I know most people have no idea how long something like this takes to make. There’s not a whole lot I can do but I thought that making two at once may reduce the making time a little. 

So, cases 5 and 6 will be twins.  I cut a new double-length resist and laid out some natural marled grey Corriedale wool.

I like the white veining on the merino ‘pebble’ case but it’s fairly subtle so I add more of it to these ones.

Top: double-size resist with wool laid out and wetted tightly round the resist. Middle: case 5 (rounded bottom). Bottom: case 6 (rounded both ends)

I keep twin one (case 5) the same as the previous cases, with a rounded bottom and flat top, and cut a rounded top of twin two (case 6) to make it overall more symmetrical.  Actually, I really like the symmetry of this rounded one, but realise that the top is a bit more flimsy than previous cases: presumably because I’m overlapping more wool at the ends of the resist than in the middle, where I have cut these two apart. 

Because I prefer the single to the twin cases, I decide to make the next pair alongside each other but separate.

I have some lightly prefelted ‘pebbles’ that I made earlier, so set these out on the bottom halves of two resists (on two layers of merino wool) with 4 layers of blue & green merino wool and strands of white angora on the top half to create the idea of sea.

Left – layout; right – prefelted

I soon abandoned working on  both at the same time as the pebbles were a bit tricky to felt round so many corners so I worked on the two separately

Comparing the finished one with the wetted out one, you can see that I lost quite a bit of  the pebble definition but I’m still fairly happy with them and they are very sturdy. Indeed, when dry and lightly shaved you can see more of the pebbles, in particular the nuno elements.

I have some Corriedale wool that I dyed ages ago (to make this bag)….

….so for the next pair I go for a blue, green, purple colour fade.

This time I use just 2 layers of wool and they are (not surprisingly) considerably thinner and slightly smaller than the previous pair. They are also much quicker to produce as the layout is fairly simple.

Finished: cases 7 & 8 colour-fade hand-dyed Corriedale

For number 9 I try lightly prefelting 2 mussel shells (one for each side) which I felt into a sandy-coloured background.

Left & middle – layouts side 1 & 2. Right – nearly finished case

I only made this yesterday and it’s still a bit damp. The finished image isn’t a great photo as I’ve taken it in domestic electric light but it gives you the overall impression.

And finally, another recycled scarf but this one is white dots on a red background from a fairly open-weave wool fabric.

To get round the fiddliness of joining / overlapping fabric on this size and shape of resist, I cut out two sections of the scarf and laid one on each side, with gaps along all the sides.

Here’s the layout and here’s a photo of the finished glasses case. I only made this today so it’s very wet. I’m hoping the dots will be a little clearer when it’s dry.

So, what have I learned from all this? Well, I’ve enjoyed playing with all the different layouts. I drew up a list of ideas and I haven’t even completed half of them so there’s plenty more to play at when I have time. 

I think my favourite more complex ones are the combined pebbles & sea.  For the more simple layouts I like both the grey & white pebbles and the blue / green / purple hand-dyed Corriedale ones.  To sell the glasses cases I will have to focus on the simple ones as the more complex layouts take way too much time to make. I’ve already made a couple more of the grey & white pebble ones and will probably make a few more simple brightly coloured ones before I move onto other things. I’m not sure yet which ones I will keep or give as gifts. Do you have a favourite? Or any you don’t like?

Making Bubbles

Making Bubbles

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This is an old post from several years ago of some fun bubbles I did with a friend. I thought you might like to see it again. This last weekend was our guild sale, and I have nothing to show you felt wise. Jan has so many pictures of the sale to show you, I will leave that post to her. I have such fond memories of this friend and our felt journey.

A while back, I went to a felting friend’s for a few days of fun.  She showed me how to make bubbles and cut them open to great effect. Here are the pictures of what I did.

First of course, I laid out some wool to felt. But these are samples, so plain felt won’t do. I added silk threads, a silk square, some silk roving and other wools to see how it would all go. This is the underside.

This is what the top side looks like

Then, of course, there was the usual rolling and fulling.

rolling rolling rolling

Here they are all finished and ready for the marbles.

The next step is to put marbles in while it is still damp. You pull the felt tightly around the marble and secure it with an elastic, and now it looks like a bubble. We used the elastics they use to put braids in horses’ tails and manes because they are small, stretchy,  strong and cheap.  You put in as many as you like and whatever sizes you like. You can also use felt balls. The felt balls are good if you want to leave them uncut. Marbles are too heavy for that.

Here they are all tied up.

Felt with marbles tied in to make bubbles

Here they are cut.  I cut the tops off, I cut x’s and star patterns, and some I turned inside out. If you cut more off, you see more of the inside, and you can stretch them flatter, too.

Bubbles cut open

You can see how the underside becomes the inside of the bubbles. These samples started out about 6×8 inches, and the finished pieces are about 1.5 by 2.5 inches. They take up a lot of room. I only have 2 of them left; my friend’s dog ate one. I think I will glue them to some leather and make brooches out of them. They are lots of fun to do. I made some wrist cuffs with this method, and I will blog about them next week.

Woodland Pictures and a Sunflower Wedding

Woodland Pictures and a Sunflower Wedding

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This month Region 8 of the International Feltmakers held an Autumn Woodland themed wet felted picture workshop led by Susan Mulcock. As with many other regions we’ve been struggling with workshop numbers recently so it was great to receive so much interest in Susan’s class that we were able to fill two separate classes over the weekend. A big shout out has to go to IFA member Kerry Thomas who travelled 250 miles from Lockerbie in Scotland to join us on the Sunday.

  • Kerry

We were encouraged to bring our own photos to use as inspiration and I chose one I’d taken while walking a local section of the Viking Way between Horncastle and Woodhall Spa. The Viking Way is a 149 mile long walking route through Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland. The route opened in 1976 and its name recognises the influence of the Norse invaders on the east of Britain. The route is clearly marked with the recognisable signage of a viking helmet on the yellow disc. 

 

Photo shows a wet felted Autumn Woodland themed picture. it was inspired by a stretch of the Viking Way near Horncastle in Lincolnshire.

I didn’t think to take photos of the process but this is my finished picture. Looking back at my original photo I think I must have been in a colourful mood when I was laying out my fibres! I’ve added some free motion stitch to help define the tree trunks and some of the finer branches but drew the line at adding hand embroidery. I feel I’d like to do some but I know that if I start I would have to add lots of it so I’ll live with it for now and maybe more stitching will be done at some point.

These are some of the wonderful pictures that were created over the weekend.

Something else I wanted to share with you, with permission from the bride, was my friend Sally’s wedding. Or rather the incredible textile/fibre creations that Sally produced for her wedding to fiance Chris. Sally joined the South Lincs Spinners, Weavers and Dyers three years ago where she learnt to spin and weave. She fell in love with both of these crafts and challenged herself to use them to create her own wedding outfit.

Chris’s mother is German and Sally has a thing for sunflowers so Sally aimed to combine both these themes for her big day. She began by purchasing green mulberry silk fibre from World of Wool which she spun. Next the spun fibre was woven and blocked before being cut out and sewn to create the beautiful bodice for her traditional German style dirndl outfit.

Extra fibre was spun and woven (just in case!) and this was used to make her usher, son Lewis, his waistcoat and to make the ring cushion. The gold apron features a white band made up of number of symbols, designed by Sally, that represent members of her family and these were crocheted using a fine thread to add a very personal detail to the outfit.

During our visit to Ampthill Fibre show this summer we saw a stall selling kits to create your own parasol. Sally bought a kit and had the fibre specially dyed to fit in with her sunflower colour scheme. She then crocheted her parasol cover and put the whole thing together to create a stunning accessory for her outfit.

Another beautiful touch was the wet felted Sunflower with Tyvek daisy’s that she made with me. It was attached it to her veil which in turn was lit from beneath with fairy lights.

At our Spinning meeting the month before the wedding we had a drop spindle demonstration and members that took part had the chance to spin a short length of fibre to take to Sally’s wedding. At the reception we took it in turns to add our yarn to a small piece of weaving which Sally and Chris will keep as a memento of their special day.

At the end of the ceremony I can imagine Sally breathing a huge sigh of relief that all her hard work had paid off and resulted in a day that was incredibly creative, unique and very much “Sally”!

Two Coats Colder

Two Coats Colder

Comments 11 comments

Back in April 2002, before I became infected by felt and  was still interested in woven tapestry, I plucked up courage and attended a Tapestry Weaving Course run by professional tapestry weaver Bobbie Cox.  If you live in or near Rochester in Kent you may have seen some of her work as there are four of her tapestries adorning the Lady Chapel in Rochester Cathedral.  My report of the workshop was published in the March 2003 edition of The Journal for Weavers Spinners & Dyers.  I have reproduced it here.  I’m afraid that there weren’t any photographs for me to show you as I didn’t own a camera at that time.  I have tried to produce the sketches that I made and you will see why I say that I can’t draw, except with a felting needle!

inside a cathedral showing stained glass windows with tapestries below and a tapestry on the front of an alter with 2 candles on it
Lady Chapel, Rochester Cathedral – Bobbie Cox Tapestries

“Peter Tavy, Two Coats Colder than Tavistock”

“And I wish I had known before I went!  Still this only related to the weather and was in contrast to the warmth of the welcome from the inhabitants of Peter Tavy when I joined 16 others on an ‘overflow’ course on Design & Tapestry Weaving given by Bobbie Cox at Peter Tavy Village Hall (formerly the school) in the second week in April 2002 (the original course had had such a long waiting list that Bobbie had arranged an additional one).

“Our first task was to explore the village taking in textures, colours and atmosphere, making notes, taking wax rubbings and collecting samples.

“On returning to the hall we discussed what we had found and then Bobbie told us that our theme for the course would be ‘windows’.  She showed us slides of photographs she had taken from the inside looking out, outside looking in, of misted window glass, and raindrops, of reflections and shadows.  She reminded us that windows are the eyes of a building and can be looking at us whilst we are looking at them.  (I’ll never regard a window in the same way again!)  Then she sent us out around the village again to ‘collect’ windows.  The villagers were (with one unpleasant exception) very tolerant of the students gazing at their properties in a very odd way, even the overwintering inhabitants of the sole remaining farm’s cowshed.

“The students were of mixed ability, from complete beginners (three of us – one of whom was our ‘token man’ Peter) to the quite advanced.  Bobbie showed us three ways of warping our frames, how to decide on the set of the warp and how to spread the warps appropriately.  She gave us advice and encouragement and showed us some of her many sample pieces to illustrate her points and her tips.

“After a picnic lunch beside the River Tavy, it was back to work – perfecting our designs with paint and pencil.  (I stayed up till 11.30 getting mine done.)

“Next day Bobbie set up an Indigo vat – in the back of her car!  (Well it was very cold out and much warmer inside the car which was standing in the sun, indigo vats need to be kept warm.)

“We all took turns to dip various yarns and fibres, re-dipping and over dyeing some coloured yarns for various periods during that day and also leaving some in the vat over-night.  In between times we started the actual weaving of our tapestries, all the time receiving tips and advice from Bobbie.

“She advised us to watch out for shrinkage or ‘waisting’ – the tapestry pulling in at the sides as the weaving progresses.  It is unlikely that this will be the result of poor selvedges, but more likely to be because the use of several different yarns in one pic, or ending one or more kelim slits in a single pic.  Bobbie’s suggestion was that we should insert a number of ‘guy ropes’ by sewing one end of a spare piece of warp thread near the edge of the tapestry (but not too close to it) and tying the ends to the sides of the frame.  If this is done on both sides of the tapestry, the tension will help to prevent the waisting. (I wondered what the purists would think of this, but if it’s good enough for Bobbie Cox it’s good enough for me.)

“Day 3; and after removing the yarns which had rested in the dye vat over-night, some of us tried some more in what was thought just to be the exhaust of the indigo.  In fact there was still quite a bit of life there and we dipped several skeins each.

“As the sun was still shining, we decided that we would lay out on the playground the yarns which had been dried over-night so that Bobbie and those students with cameras could photograph them.  It was then that we received some exuberant visitors.  They were some of the inhabitants of the cowshed on their way through the village to alternative accommodation.  They were moving at high speed in all directions, frantically followed by the farmer.  Bobbie saw off the ones which had decided to see what the activity was at the Village Hall.  I understand that they were eventually rounded up and led of to their new abode, having left liberal donations for the rose garden in the streets.

“Before lunch, delivered to the Village Hall by Jill, the Peter Tavy Sandwich Lady, some of the students accompanied Bobbie on a walk up to Dartmoor.  Some of us, not having sufficient warm clothing, decided to stay and work on.

“During the day Bobbie showed us some more slides of windows and also some of her own work.  However the highlight of the day was a visit to Bobbie’s own studio.  She was not working on anything at the moment, being very much involved in the administration of her touring exhibition ‘Woven Water’.  She did have two of the larger pieces from this Exhibition, ‘Spring’ and ‘Autumn’, which she  hung along with some other pieces for us to see, including a recently completed commission – a large tapestry inspired by the beach at Blakeney Point in Norfolk entitled ‘Tidelines, a Woven Memory of Blakeney’.  Also on display were picture boards showing the inspiration and development of that design and some of the Woven Water tapestries as well as some smaller samples and bundles of wefts tied and dyed.  Bobbie explained the mechanics of her large high warp loom and how she works on it.

“The next day – our last – was Sunday.  Now we were all working hard trying to get as much weaving done as possible before our visitors arrived.  At Bobbie’s suggestion we had all asked our bed and breakfast hosts to morning coffee and to see what we had been doing during our stay.  This is apparently a feature of Bobbie’s courses and many villagers visit regularly.  The noise level rose dramatically as the visitors wandered around and chatted.

“Bobbie did manage to fit in a few more tips for us though:

“1        Don’t be in too much of a hurry to cut the work off the loom, live with it for a while in case you subsequently decide that you want to add to it or make some changes.  It won’t be possible after it’s off the loom.

“2        Ends of yarns are usually left hanging at the back of the work, unless it is to be viewed from both sides.  Don’t cut them too close to the weaving or they will start to work through to the right side.

“3        Darn in yarn ends which are near the selvedge or kelim slits.

“4        When you darn in, slide the needle up or down the warp thread, not across the warps – it might show.

“5        Consider the mechanics you will use to hang the finished tapestry (although this should have been thought out at the design stage).  You may need to weave further pics in the heading, for instance if you will be incorporating a metal (preferably stainless) rod or a wooden slat.

“6        Weighting the bottom of the weaving will help it to hang better.

“7        Steam press the work on the reverse side – using a cloth and pressing lightly.

“At three o’clock we started to pack up and then display our work and our design drawings so that they could all be looked at and photographed.  It was amazing what diverse designs had been achieved.  We had all learned something, particularly we three beginners.  Bobbie  had encouraged us to try our own ideas and allowed us to make our own mistakes, lessons being better learned by trial and error than by example.

“By the time that we finished at about four, we were all very tired by very happy.  One usually finds on a course like this that there is one person who spoils things for the others, but it had been noted that our group was particularly lucky in that we were not “blessed” with the student who wanted to grab all the tutor’s time, or the one who wanted to be the centre of everyone’s attention (boring or noisy or both), or the hypochondriac.  We all had a great time – thank you Bobbie.

“PS If you attend another of Bobbie’s courses in Peter Tavy, better diet before you go – the food in the local pubs is marvellous – so’s the beer!”

partly completed tapestry of the four paned window on a wooden frame loom
Window Tapestry – still on the loom I’m afraid and I don’t think it ever progressed any further.

A couple of weeks later I attended another tapestry workshop run by another professional but I’ll save my report of that one for another day.

 

Fish should not have squishy centers!

Fish should not have squishy centers!

Comments 13 comments

A few weeks ago, I turned my attention back to working on the latest Mer-person (the boyfriend for Miss Mer) and realised I had a small problem. It is very fixable, but I thought you might like to chat about what and how it happened.

 

A quick review of the newest Mer-persons progress so far;

3 fotos, the armature, head body and fist arm initial wrapping in white wool, second hand close up has 5 fingers and a thrumb... 3 photos: front and back of upperbody and head, adding first wrapping on tail1.1-1.2) 05-2025 Cangames (you can see what happens if you get distracted winding fingers…I fixed that too.)

mer-person (under layer underway) self stabing while holding a ball of core wool 1.3) 06-04-2025 Mer-boyfriend trying to get me to rush his felting

adding more fiber to fish parts at demo in Dunvagon Museum1.4) 06-15-2025 Blacksmithing weekend and felting the mer-boyfriend

visiting the guild mer-person lounging langudly on table (back vew)1.5) 07-14-2025 Social

Mer-Person with felting needle self felting his 6pack abs.1.6) 08-08-2025 Friday Twist shop and demo

As you can see in the review, I had a few problems with counting fingers and rushing to build up the shape. I do have an excuse, as I started this project, I was still heavily distracted by lingering anaesthetic. I think there may be a few tendrils of the stuff still clinging to bits of brain, but most of it has now left the building. (Yah!)

 

When I was wrapping, especially in the Fish parts, I had not kept the second layers of wrapping as tight as I would have liked. This was exacerbated by starting to block in the superficial features before getting the understructure as firm as I would like. This meant that the Fish parts were now close to the correct shape at the surface, but squishy if you applied pressure to the felt. Squishy does not suggest strong young fish!!! (Fish also usually do not have the ability to fold mid fish.)

 

Working on superficial features (shallow poking of the wool with 38T333 and 42T222 needles) gave me a nicely felted surface with a much more loosely felted under layer. (I got excited, I jumped ahead and started into the fun sculpting, before a firm under layer was achieved!)  Well, that is not what I was wanting. How am I going to fix that?

 

Diagram of superficial felting with a less felted core.2.1) Diagram of superficial felting with a less felted core.

 

Since I am still working on the understructure, I can fix this now without too much difficulty. I will need to move fibre at a deeper layer, and since I am making the under structure, not the finished surface layer, I don’t have to worry about surface pitting if I move to a courser needle (a 36T-333). Pitting is telling you to keep felting, until the raised area (the parts not yet felted) is even with the lower spot (which is felted more).

 

Why would I move to a courser needle? I want to move fibre, but I will not be adding more fibre superficially at this point. Also, if I work deeply with a finer needle, it is more sensitive to minor directional changes (which can lead to OOPS!!) I would prefer not to have to go searching out broken needle bits from his fishy parts.

Synopsis: A Courser needle is more aggressive when moving fibre, and is less fragile than a finer needle, especially when working deep into the under layers.

 

Diagram inserting the needle deeper to affect the under layer 2.2) Diagram inserting the needle deeper to affect the under layer

 

Synopsis: The barbs affect the fibre by grabbing one to a few fibres as they are passing through. If you only work to a shallow depth, you will only be affecting those fibres. If you are working to a greater depth, you will affect the fibres that are located there and some of the fibres above them.

 

There is another way squishy interior felt can occur;

As with Wet felting, some breeds of sheep have fleece that is less inclined to create a dense felt than other breeds. I have had trouble with a couple of the Rideau Arcott fleeces (created with a mix of breeds) I have used. No matter how much needle felting of that wool I did, it remained spongy, but it was holding together, so it was felted.  A Less than appropriate wool choice is not the problem this time, since I am using Corradale carded roving, which I have used before without problems.

 

Before I started to firm up the understructure of my fish person, he was able to fold his tail tightly in half and fit in the smaller project bag. Now, after hours of poking, he will have to go into the big project bag.

 

mer-person at wet felting workshop. he is face down on the table and may have fainted?3.1) 10-05-2025 Slipper workshop (I think the wetness was too much for him?)

 

He now bends and stays in position, but no longer stays when the bend is extreme. (The increase in felt stiffness has strengthened the wool. He is poseable, but the wool felt is getting closer to overpowering the wire. I can stop increasing the firmness now, and work on adding more of the understructure superficial detail and the missing fins. (I will return to shallow poking rather than deep stabbing!)

 

I should mention the importance of gauge choice and wire type for your armature. It is important to figure out the gauge of wire you need for the size of your sculpture, and the pose or position you would like your figure to be in. You can make a blind guess, an educated guess from previous experience, or you can make samples. (I know some fiber artists, I am looking at a couple of my weaver friends, who are vary avers to sampling but it can be both educational and inspirational even if you don’t get the result you expected.) 

 

I organised a study group during COVID to make samples of various gauges of mainly aluminium and Steel (floral) wire. It gives me a reference sample I can use to select a good wire gauge to try for a new project.  (Before the samples, I could adjust the armature to make it stronger by adding steel floral wire to a limb to give it more strength. This can be done over part of the wool under structure, as long as more wool would be added on top.) I have also had to add lateral supports when the lumbar spine of Mr. Mer broke (I wound up doing surgery with a sharp awl, inserting Harrington rods running up each erector spinae muscle and down into the upper Hamstrings.)

  awl inserting harrington rods (10g aluminum coated wire) lower section is imbeded from lower lumbar to below his glutes Mr Mer showing where the two rods is hidden on one side of his back4.1-4.3) 01-19-2022 Mr. Mer’s Fishy parts, augmenting armature after felting is well underway. (Insertion of Harrington rods in progress) fixing this far into felting becomes harder to hide the surgery, but not impossible.

 

With armature wire gauges and felting, you have 3 options for outcome.

1) Wire overpowers wool (felt):

  • The wire holds the wool/felt staying in position when posed.
  • A lighter gauge of wire could have been used and still held the wool in position (working with heavier wire than you need can stress your hands and may develop metal fatigue if you are moving the figure often)

2) Wire = wool (felt):

  • The wire holds the wool staying in position when posed

This is the balance you would like to achieve, since you will not have worked with over-stiff wire.

3) Wool overpowers wire (felt):

  • When posed, the wire is moved out of position by the density or strength of the wool.
  • Augmenting the armature might be possible if you catch the imbalance before you finish the understructure. It is increasingly difficult to strengthen the wire the closer you are to finishing the sculpture. (but you can see with Mr. Mer it is not impossible to strengthen the armature quite far into the felting.)

 

If you have the opportunity, you may also want to make samples of various gauges of wire or combinations of gauges if you don’t have access to a full range of aluminum and floral wire (there are sources online if you can’t find a range of wire locally).

 

Investigate locally easily available types of wire first. One of the English felters uses rubber-coated garden wire for armatures.  A few felters on YouTube, like pipe cleaners, but craft pipe cleaners are weak compared to the strength of other options. If you are doing very lightly felted structures  (a lot of the faceless fairies are only lightly felted), pipe cleaners might work to su0pport the wool. What pipe cleaners are very helpful for is wrapping around your armature, to help secure the wool as you wrap it. Cheap quality pipe cleaners, in areas of high humidity, have another problem: they can rust.

As you find more gauges and types of wire, make samples of them too. Keep notes, was it easy to shape or twist, or did your hands tire quickly? (Note: Uncoated aluminium will leave marks on your hands.) Also, try a gauge and augment it with a second finer wire too; it will give you more options if you don’t have access to a full range of aluminium and floral wires. I made a series of legs, with feet, and to test floral wire as fingers, I made arms with hands. I can now refer to the samples when I start a new project.

 

I have been puttering along, firming up his fishy bits and then moved on to work on his upper musculature. I will have to print off another set of photo-reference if I cannot find the book with the last set. (found it!)

 

Front vew of the firmer fish bits back vew of the firmer fish bits5.1-5.2) The fish parts are now quite firm. I think I am almost ready to start adding the little spikes.

I will try to remember to take some more in-progress shots while I figure out the fish details. I apologise! I am afraid that for this part of “stiffening-of-the-Fishy-under-structure” felting, I climbed into bed with a big pile of pillows and felted while listening to the end of the new Lynsay Sands vampire book. Then started the latest Wen Spencer (this one has a vampire and werewolves) audiobook, and forgot to bring the camera! (Needle felting in bed is not the suggested location for optimal felting and avoiding self-stabbing as you fall asleep while felting…. a table is really a better choice)

 

Photographic collection of some of the refference photos i have collected to help with the next part of the project adding the spikey parts5.3)Some of the sturgeon reference photos I have collected, focusing on the spines/spikes.

 

 

What’s next;

You may remember last year, about this time, was the Kanata games (and felting) convention (last year I found a sheep game). It is coming up, and I wanted to have most of the basic shape blocked in and firmed up so I could start working on the fiddly bits of the ridges and rows of spikes. If all is going really well, I hope I can start to add some of the colour layers during the convention.

 

PS: I can think of a reason you may like to have that firm outside and softer felted inside. I am sure one of my cats would have appreciated something to pounce on that squished in a satisfying way.

One way to achieve this would be; wrap your fist layer securely (around the armature, if you are using one, which will keep the felt from rotating around the armature), then wrap the next layer a bit looser. Then, focus the majority of your felting on the shallow depths, and you could recreate the squishy inside effect. If you wrap around a bundle of fresh catnip leaves, it will be even more appealing. Just make sure the outside is well felted, so no one can tear off and eat the wool, to get to the catnip!

 

Even from what is technically an anaesthetic-incused mistake, you can notice something and save that thought for later use. Who knows when it may be a useful idea?

 

I will update you on his progress at the convention!  Maybe there will be more felters this year! Stop by between games if you are there. I hope you too are enjoying this late summer/not-really-fall and getting the last of your summer fibre purchases washed, before the weather remembers to look at the calendar and realise we used to have snow in about 2 weeks from now. (Really, there is no rush! I am enjoying this not-fall and am perfectly happy not to be having snow any time soon!)

PSS, if you would like to comment on any of the posts you read in the blog but cant find the comments button, it has vanished from the end of the post! (it is either very shy, or trying to avoid work) since it is now hiding all the way back at the top of the post (where no one would ever think to look for it! silly button you have been found and will hopefully be put to work!)

 

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

Comments 11 comments

First, there are still a couple of days to sign up for the 3D multi-part resist workshop. It starts on the 17th, so hurry if you want to join us. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

 

On November 1 and 2 is our guild’s Annual Sale and Exhibition. https://www.ovwsg.com/sale/ Or her on Facebook FB Event The guild runs a booth for people who don’t have enough things to have their own booth. I have been getting my things ready for the booth.

I have a few needle books from several years ago. I had to check the tags, replacing some and adding price stickers. They have 4 needle pages, 2 pouches, 2 pins, 1 needle, on thread storage card, and one needle threader.

I also have some scissors cases with scissors. These are great little scissors, I like the big handles so you’re not tight to get your fingers in or out of.

And there are the sheep keychains. I told you about them here. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/09/13/this-and-that-5/

I had to iron their ears as they needed flattening. I thought I might need hairspray, but I didn’t.

 

I stamped the back of their cards

I put them into their plastic. I need to finish that. I think I need to get some double-sided tape to keep them centred in the bags. And for some, I may resize their bags.

 

I may put the other things in plastic, too. Do you think it would look more professional?

 

I still have to make felted soap. That is on the to-do list. But now I am out of time for today.

 

 

Registration for the 3D multi-part resist workshop is now open.

Registration for the 3D multi-part resist workshop is now open.

Comments 10 comments

Hi, I’m Ann McElroy. I have been doing in-person teaching for about 20 years now.  After hearing much demand for a workshop like this from people who do not have access to in-person teachers and much nagging encouragement from my fellow bloggers, I put this class together.  Doing multi-part resist is great fun, and there are so many possibilities for this technique. Registration opens today, and class starts Oct 17.  You can register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

Have you ever wondered about working with more than one resist? Have you tried one resist and found that only one is not enough? Do you want more? I can help! Why have a single resist when you could have a full book of them! This fun course will expand your felting horizons. This step-by-step course will guide you from building the multi-part resist to the finished piece and give you the skills to continue. Why use only one resist when you can use more?

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 British Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.  Here is a link to the material list: 3D supply list.   You will likely already have most or all of this. Registration and contact information are at the bottom of the page. Registration will open on October 1 2025.

This course is designed for Felters who have felted over a simple resist before. An experienced felter may be able to complete this class within a single day; however, the course can easily be extended over multiple days as needed. You can stop at the end of each PDF and continue another day or time. Using a step-by-step guide, you will make a three-dimensional six-part resist. This type of resist is often called a book resist, as it resembles an open book with the pages splayed.

The workshop is accessible for four weeks and has four downloadable instructional PDFs. I will be available to answer any questions for the 4 weeks the class is open. You will also have access to community spaces where you can share progress pictures and connect with the teacher and other students.

Your learning goals

  • Learn how to make a multipart 3D book resist
  • You will learn how to lay out and manage your wool for a three-dimensional resist.
  • How to bring the wool and resist together in an organised and logical way. Including all the fiddly bits.
  • How to felt a multi-part resist, managing all the parts.
  • Learn three different methods of fulling and their advantages and disadvantages.
  • You will have the option to choose from various finishing methods.
  • How to use some everyday items to help with shaping and finishing.
  • Experimenting with different shapes.

By the end of the course, you will have a unique sculpture. Mastering the book resist technique, you will unlock new creative possibilities for complex sculptural felting.

 

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

You will be billed/invoiced by PayPal, and the vendor name on the bill will be Shepherds’ Spring Farm. Class sizes are limited to 50. A supply list, a Class Website Navigation PDF, and an Adding Photos to the Class Website PDF will be attached to the PayPal invoice for your convenience.

Please remember that the course content is for your own use and should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without obtaining my prior written permission. Please respect the copyright.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.

Registration is now open. Register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

 

Playing with prefelt

Playing with prefelt

Comments 16 comments

In May this year, I wrote about about a vessel I’d made for an exhibition called ‘Edge’.  Although this hadn’t been the intention, the vessel gave me a sort of Japanese minimalism vibe, which was something I wanted to revisit.

Edge Vessel

The vessel fit the Edge brief in that I’d used a circular resist to create the shape but rather than cut the hole in the centre of the circle, I’d stood it on one edge, with the hole on the opposite edge.  I like this shape and want to explore it further.

The fibre I’d used was something I also want to come back to.  A beautiful fine carded merino and silk mix from World of Wool, it was time-consuming to lay out because of the short staple-length, but produced a lovely, light and velvety soft felt.

Before leaping into making something with so many variables of shape, surface design and fibre, I knew I needed to make some samples and decided to think first about the surface design.

I have no real knowledge of Japanese minimalist art and am not trying to replicate it, just play around with some of the simplicity of design and colours as inspiration.  I love problem-solving (or perhaps that’s problem-investigating) so was setting myself a bit of a challenge.

I’ve seen various images of beautiful Japanese brush work using black ink brush strokes and red circles on a white background and I wondered if I could create something like that in felt. The biggest challenge seemed to be how to wet felt black, red and white together while keeping the colours separate. Prefelt seemed to be one way to go so I made three different black prefelts to see which might look like black ink brush strokes.

Using commercial black merino prefelt, I cut a strip and felted it a little. I didn’t think this would work well as it’s the cut ends that move most into the surrounding fibres and this strip is basically all cut edges. Next, I tried lightly prefelting two other types of black merino wool: carded and tops, as if I was starting to make felt rope.

commercial prefelt strip
carded batt layout
carded batt prefelt
top to bottom: merino strips from commercial prefelt, carded batt prefelt, tops prefelt
Prefelt for black lines

The tops and carded wool produced very similar-looking results and I confess, when I got to the making bit, I lost track of which was which. The advantage of these was that the fibres are mainly running along the length of the line rather than sticking out of the sides so there should be less migration into the white. I decided I’d use these rather than the commercial prefelt strip.

I then turned my attention to red circles.  I suspect carded wool might be best but I only have tops in red so that was what I used.  First, I just tried making a circle freehand.  I got about 2/3 of a circle and a raggedy bit.  On the plus side, there weren’t cut edges, so that should help minimise side-to-side fibre migration. On the minus side, the shape left a lot to be desired!  Needs further work.

Next, I made some red prefelt and cut a couple of circles out of it.  I thought this would work less well but I was interested to see how they compared with the freehand idea.

 

freehand shape
red prefelt with circle template
Making red circles

I was aiming for a very simple design, so played around arranging black strands and red circles in different combinations.

Testing out different layouts

Now to actually make a sample.

My chosen layout

I used a rectangle of white silk and merino commercial prefelt for speed, and felted it together with three black strips and a red circle to see what happened.

Sample 1 completed

As you can see, the black didn’t migrate much on the long sides, though it did where I’d cut the shorter pieces (on the ends on the left side).  The lines did, however, crimp and move a bit – maybe I need to prefelt these a bit less on the length and definitely more on any cut ends.  Also, I must keep a better check on any movement as I felt.

The red, on the other hand, probably needed prefelting more as there was quite a lot of migration there.  Basically, far too many loose cut ends, so either felt the edges harder or go back to a different layout.

At this point, I wonder why the heck I’m doing this: the layout looks so much better than the felted piece.  Nevertheless, I decide to make a quick second sample before I finish for the day.

This time I used the freehand red circle with the raggedy edge. Somewhere in the dusty corners of my brain, I’d started to think about using resists to reveal the colours rather than just laying them on the surface.  I hadn’t actually developed this thought but just plonked a resist on top of the red felt and laid a second layer of the white over the whole of the piece.  I had some vague thoughts about the red incomplete circle looking a bit like a setting sun so placed it near the bottom and thought I could perhaps print some flying bird silhouettes on the upper part afterwards.

OK, I’m sort of freewheeling by this stage.

Sample 2 layout
Sample 2 layout with extra layer
Sample 2 felted
Sample 2

 

The useful learning from my experiments thus far was that the freehand circle (which has fibres running around the circumference of the circle, therefore avoiding lots of ends sticking out) works much better.  You can see this very clearly from the under side.  The cut ends clearly also migrate much more up and down as well as side to side. The freehand shape was probably also felted a bit harder than the red prefelt sheet.

Sample 1 underside: lots of migration round the edges
Sample 2 underside: very little migration
Comparing undersides of samples 1 & 2

 

For my final two test pieces, I lightly needle-felted some red circles then wet-felted the edges to make them as neat as possible. I went back to using the original white carded 70:30 merino:silk mix and decided to concentrate on getting the red circle right.  I laid out two layers of fibre at right-angles to each other and put a needle felted circle top right.

Needle felted circle
Sample 3 layout
Sample 3 felted
Sample 3 finished with a printed tree
Sample 3 using needle felted circle

The needle-felted circle felted in well and when it was dry I printed a tree onto it.  It’s a bit big but I’m going to make this into a birthday card for my Mum.

For my final test piece I continued with the carded merino & silk batt.  I laid four layers of fibre round a circular resist and added one needle-felted red circle on each side.

As with my earlier Edge vessel, I cut it on one of the edges (rather than in the centre of the circle) and designed it to sit on the opposite edge.

Part-way through fulling, I worried that one of the red circles hadn’t felted in very well so did a little judicious needle felting around its edges before finishing the vessel.

layout for layers 1 & 3
layout for layers 2 & 4
Side 1 – still wet
Side 2 – still wet
Side 1 – nearly dry
Vessel with 2 circles: sample 4

This is a lot smaller than my original ‘edge’ vessel and much sturdier.

Conclusions?

The needle-felted and freehand wet-felted circles work better than cutting the circles from prefelt. I like the effect though could maybe make the need-felted circles a bit thinner: they do look as if they’re partially sitting on top of the surface.  I’m happy that I’ve more or less cracked that bit of my challenge.  As for the black lines, I’m leaving them for now but may come back to them at a later stage. The carded merino / silk batt was lovely to work with and I will definitely be making more things using this fibre. I might make a series of vessels using different colours and / or numbers of circles. I may also develop combining a circle and a printed tree. As usual, each experiment opens up lots of new possibilities. So much felt to make and too little time…..